The U.S. announced "Phase Two" of President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan to establish a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration, Washington reportedly considered military options against Iran amid widespread protests that have killed thousands of people,and the U.S. opened an air defense cell in Qatar to strengthen its regional defenses.Meanwhile, Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of delaying a potential peace deal with Russia, claiming Moscow was ready to negotiate while Kyiv remained the obstacle, two U.S. Senators introduced the NATO Unity Protection Act to bar any takeover of a NATO member's territory without consent,and the Pentagon deployed Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok to enhance data-driven operations and mission support.

Trump spoke with Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez in a call he described as "great,"while he also met with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize medal, Rodríguez announced changes to her cabinet after meeting with CIA director John Ratcliffe,and the U.S. completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.Meanwhile, the European Parliament banned all Iranian diplomats from its premises over the ongoing protests in the country,which also saw Trump impose 25% tariffs on Iran's trading partners, the U.S. and Taiwan finalized a trade deal reducing tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15%,and Canada and China pledged to forge a "strategic partnership" following a meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Xi Jinping.In related moves, Trump announced plans to implement tariffs on eight European countries until a deal is reached for the U.S. to acquire Greenland,as U.S. Rep. Randy Fine introduced a bill to annex the island as a U.S. state,and U.S., Danish and Greenlandic officials held talks in a meetingthat saw the trio agree to form a working group to discuss their disagreements.Elsewhere, Uganda imposed a nationwide internet shutdown ahead of its presidential electionthat saw President Yoweri Museveni secure a seventh term, Yemen named Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsen Zindani as its new prime minister following the resignation of Salem bin Breik,and Romania declared readiness to discuss unification with Moldova following the latter's president's openness to the idea.This comes as Somalia terminated all agreements with the United Arab Emirates over alleged sovereignty violations, Israel and Ethiopia agreed to strengthen their ties ahead of the fourth Ethio-Israel Political Consultation,and the U.S. approved the export of NVIDIA's H200 AI chips to China, easing controls imposed due to national security concerns,as it imposed 25% tariffs on advanced AI chips.In other news, Trump ended Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals, mandating their departure by March 17, the U.S. paused immigrant visa processing for 75 countries starting Jan. 21,and Washington designated three Muslim Brotherhood chapters as terrorist organizations following a review by the Treasury and State Departments.Separately, former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol received a five-year prison sentence for his martial law declaration,despite prosecutors seeking the death penalty, U.K. MP Robert Jenrick defected to Reform UK after being suspended from the Conservative Party,and Quebec Premier François Legault resigned, citing economic challenges.

Trump considered invoking the Insurrection Act amid escalating clashes in Minnesota over federal immigration enforcement, at least six Justice Department officials resigned in protest over the handling of the probe into the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis,and Minnesota and Illinois filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security challenging the deployment of federal immigration agents in their states.Meanwhile, the U.S. recorded negative net migration in 2025 — the first time in at least 50 years — Trump halted federal payments to sanctuary cities effective Feb. 1,and Sen. Elissa Slotkin confirmed she is under federal investigation for participating in a video urging military members to resist illegal orders,as one of her co-participants, Sen. Mark Kelly, filed a lawsuit over his military rank demotion.In other news, prosecutors opened a criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell regarding his testimony on the Central Bank's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation, impeachment articles were introduced against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for allegedly obstructing Congress,and former special counsel Jack Smith was scheduled to testify publicly about his prior investigations into Trump.In other news, Bill and Hillary Clinton defied subpoenas requiring them to testify on Jeffrey Epstein-related matters,and Trump floated the idea of canceling the midterms — a remark described as humor about his administration's strong performance.

The FBI executed a search warrant at a Washington Post reporter's home as part of a classified leak probe, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases challenging state bans on athletes competing in school teams matching their gender identity,and Wegmans Food Markets confirmed it deploys facial recognition technology in communities deemed "elevated risk" areas.In the U.K., the Home Office revoked Dutch political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek's electronic travel authorization days after she criticized the country's immigration policies, West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford admitted that an AI-generated error contributed to erroneous evidence used to justify the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from last year's Europa League match against Aston Villa,and the government announced adjustments to its upcoming plan to introduce digital IDs.Elsewhere, Canada's Federal Court of Appeal upheld a lower court finding that the government's 2022 invocation of the Emergencies Act during the Freedom Convoy protests was unreasonable,and the International Court of Justice began hearings in a case accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya minority, marking the first full genocide case the court has heard in over a decade.

A Venezuelan national was sentenced in a U.S. court to life in prison plus 30 years after being convicted on drug trafficking charges,and London recorded 97 homicides last year, marking an 11% drop from the year before and the lowest annual total since 2014.

Google parent Alphabet Inc. hit a market valuation of $4 trillion, becoming the fourth company to reach the milestone,and Paramount Skydance sued Warner Bros. Discovery over its deal with Netflix.Meanwhile, Meta named Dina Powell McCormick as its new president and vice chair, tasking her with guiding the company's "overall strategy and execution,"and OpenAI announced plans to test advertisements in ChatGPT for adult users in the United States.

China recorded a trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025, the largest in its history, U.S. power demand was projected to reach record highs, largely fueled by an expansion of data centers and AI-driven computing facilities,and the shares of major credit card issuers and banks fell after Trump proposed a 10% credit card rate cap.

The White House unveiled a new health plan to lower drug and insurance costs,and Trump signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, reversing Obama-era restrictions and allowing schools to serve full-fat and 2% milk alongside low-fat and fat-free options.Meanwhile, a study found no evidence that prolonged screen time increases symptoms of anxiety in teenagers, challenging common assumptions about devices, former NFL quarterback Tom Brady was named chief wellness officer of eMed, a digital platform that supports employers in managing costs for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs,and the Food and Drug Administration requested that manufacturers remove suicide warnings from weight-loss drugs after a review showed no increased risk of suicidal ideation.

Earth recorded its third-hottest year on record in 2025, with global temperatures averaging 1.47°C above pre-industrial levels.

Google rolled out Personal Intelligence, a new feature for its Gemini AI,and xAI imposed restrictions on Grok's image generation capabilities following controversy over non-consensual sexualized AI deepfakes circulating on X.

A NASA crew returned from the International Space Station early following a medical issue affecting one of its members, the U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to developing a fission surface power system for the Moon, with a target deployment date of 2030,and NASA prepared to launch its Artemis 2 mission to send four astronauts around the moon.

Twenty-six people were charged in an alleged point-shaving scheme involving 39 players across 17 NCAA Division I men's basketball teams.

Dilbert comic strip creator Scott Adams died of prostate cancer.

Dozens were killed after a crane collapsed on a moving train in Thailand.